About Igbo

Igbo Culture

Igbo Culture: a History

Pre-colonial Igbo political orgnization was based on semiautonomous communities, devoid of kings or governing chiefs. With the exception of towns such as Onitsha, which had kings called Obis, and places like Nriand Arochukwu, which had priest kings known as Ezes, most Igbo village governments were ruled solely by an assembly of the common people. Although titleholders were respected because of their accomplishments, they were never revered as kings, but often performed special functions given to them by such these assemblies. 

This way of governing was immensely different from most other communities of Western Africa, and only shared by the Ewe of Ghana. Igbo secret societies also had a ceremonial script called Nsibidi.

Post Colonization

The arrival of the British in the 1870's and increased encounters between the Igbo and other Nigerians led to a deepening sense of a distinct Igbo ethnic identity. The Igbo also proved remarkably decisive and enthusiastic in their embrace of Christianity and Western education. Under British colonial rule, the diversity within each of Nigeria's major ethnic groups slowly decreased and distinctions between the Igbo and other large ethnic groups, 
slowly decreased and distinctions between the Igbo and other large ethnic groups, such as Hausa and the Yoruba became sharper.

The novel "Things Fall Apart" by Igbo author Chinua Achebe, is a fictional account of the clash between the new infleunces of the British and the traditional life of the Igbo.

Instability and Biafra Secession

In 1966, a failed coup d'etat by Nigerian army officers led by an Igbo, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu resulted in the death of Sir Ahmadu Bello (the Sardauna of sokoto, a prominent northern Nigerian of the Hausa ethnic group). Although the coup was foiled primarily by another Igbo, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, the belief prevailed in northern Nigeria that Hausa leaders were singled out for death.

Instability continued...

This situation gave rise to a retaliation in which tens of thousands of Igbo were murdered in northern Nigeria. This led to the headlong flight back to the Eastern Region of as many as two million Igbos. 

Eventually, the crisis reached an apex in May 1967 with the secession of the Igbo dominated Eastern Region from Nigeria to form the Republic of Biafra headed by the aforementioned
Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu. The secession quickly led to civil war after talks between former Army colleagues, Yakubu Gowon and Odumegwu Ojukwu broke down. The Republic of Biafra lasted up until January 1970 after a campaign of starvation by the Nigerian Army with the support of Egypt, Sudan and the United Kingdom.

Freedom.

Unity.

Peace.

Excerpt from Ojukwu's Last War Speech as Biafra's Head of State

"In the three years of the war necessity gave birth to invention. During those three years of heroic bound, we leapt across the great chasm, that separates knowledge from know-how. We built rocket, and we designed and built our own delivery systems. We guided our rockets. We guided them far; we guided them accurately. For three years, blockaded without hope of import, we maintained all our vehicles. The state extracted and refined petrol, individual's refined petrol in their back gardens. We built and maintained our airports, maintained them under heavy bombardment. Despite the heavy bombardment , we recovered so quickly after each raid that we were able to maintain the record for the busiest airport in the continent of Africa. We spoke to the world through telecommunication system engineered by local ingenuity; the world heard us and spoke back to us! We built armoured cars and tanks. We modified aircraft from trainer to fighters, from passenger aircraft to bombers. In the three years of freedom we had broken the technological barrier. In the three years we became the most civilized, the most technologically advanced black people on earth."

Our Mission

To foster unity among the Igbos, and other ethnic groups within and outside the Province of British Columbia.
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Our Constitution

The Bylaws and Constitution, Procedure and Policies.
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Officers of the Association 

Board Members of our Association
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